There was a slightly smaller entry in Brockagh Mart for the first sheep sale of 2025, with 458 sheep present in the sales yard.

The consignment was made up mostly of lambs and cull ewes, with a small number of cull rams also present.

Demand was extremely high for all of the different categories of sheep.

Demand led to a high level of bidding from both the ringside and online.

Bidding remained sharp from start to finish, leading to a 100% clearance for all lots.

Hill types

With the mart being located in the centre of the hill farming community in Donegal, the majority of the sheep in the sales yard where hill types or hill-crosses.

The top-priced lot on the night was a Charollais-cross ram lamb weighing 57kg that sold for €232, achieving a price per kilo of €4.07/kg.

There was a small number of heavy lambs weighing over 45kg on offer, but they where highly sought after, selling from €198 to €216.

Ram lambs

Ram lambs weighing from 35kg to 45kg were also scarce, with bidders battling it out for these lots. The majority of these ram lambs sold from €144 to €176.

Ram lambs weighing from 25kg to 35kg were mostly hill-type lambs and sold from €112 to €154.

Large entry of ewe lambs

There was a larger entry of ewe lambs than ram lambs.

Price per kilo for ewe lambs was extremely strong, reaching a high of €4.84/kg for a pair of Suffolk-cross ewe lambs that weighed 31kg.

Ewe lambs in the highest demand were those weighing from 25kg to 35kg.

A large number of the lambs in this weight category were hill-type ewe lambs. They sold from €115 to €160.

There was a strong selection of heavier ewe lambs weighing from 35kg to 47kg.

These lambs were a mixture of continental and hill-type lambs. They sold from €154 to a high of €200.

Cull prices mixed

Cull ewe prices were very mixed on the night, with a large range in quality of the ewes present.

The top price paid for cull ewes was €204 for a pen of seven well-fleshed continental ewes that weighed 74kg.

The majority of the cull ewe entry was made up of draught hill ewes and they sold from €80 to €152.

Cull rams sold from €180 for well-fleshed rams to €98 for rams coming straight from the hill.

In pictures

These three horned ewe lambs weighing 34kg sold for €142 each (€4.18/kg).

This ram lamb weighing 57kg sold for €232 (€4.07/kg).

These seven clipped ewe lambs weighing 47kg sold for €200 each (€4.26/kg).

These two clipped ewe lambs weighing 31kg sold for €150 each (€4.84/kg).

These seven clipped ram lambs weighing 42kg sold for €176 each (€4.19/kg).

These two horned ewe lambs weighing 24kg sold for €110 each (€4.58/kg).

These two ewe lambs weighing 32kg sold for €144 each (€4.50/kg).

These nine ram lambs weighing 47kg sold for €198 each (€4.21/kg).

These 21 ram lambs weighing 48kg sold for €208 each (€4.33/kg).

These three horned ewe lambs weighing 36kg sold for €154 each (€4.27/kg).

This horned ram lamb weighing 35kg sold for €144 (€4.11/kg).